How to speak on stage
So many people are petrified of this. Let's change that for you. 64 tips to help you be the best you can be.
What you will get from this post:
No fluff, no made up stats, just tips. 64 amazing tips.
Actionable things you can do today to help set you up for when you need to do it
Mindset hacks to take your mind off of the things that might concern you
I love a good bit of research and a statistic to show I’ve done it. I could tell you that 99.9% would rather die than speak on stage, but it was made up by me. Like most similar stats.
Instead, I’m going to cut to the chase, mute the stuff I want to say, and give you 64 practical takeaways to help arm you with the tools you need to conquer this fear.
I’ve given this advice to many people, some of whom are now speaking regularly as keynote speakers. It’s not rocket science. Here goes!
Stuff you can do right away
Get used to the sound of your voice through a microphone. Yes. It sounds different. It sounds odd. But over time, you get used to it. Take any opportunity to talk through a microphone. Borrow one and plug it in to your computer. Use that old karaoke machine that is gathering dust. Get used to hearing your voice as the outside world hears it, not how you hear it as you speak.
Get clear on what you can speak about. Remember how much you know. And also how much you don’t know. This will help you decide what you should and shouldn’t speak about.
Take stock of the conversations you had today. Think about when you chatted to friends, colleagues, and loved ones. How did they go? Did you plan every word for weeks in advance? Did you overthink the content? Did you worry that they would ask difficult questions? Did you think you’d lose your words and freeze up?
Appreciate the value of your voice. Some of us don’t have a voice. And I don’t mean that metaphorically. Being non verbal is a thing, a thing that has impacted me deeply. Cherish the fact that you can use your words, your tone, and your accent to communicate your thoughts, your feelings and your opinions.
Stuff you can do over the next week or so
Count how many people you are speaking to. Often people are scared of speaking to ‘lots of people’. But in day to day life we don’t see that tipping point. Did you speak up in a group of six people? Personally, I find groups of 6 to say 25 far harder than rooms that can seat 5,000. Strange but true. I’ll come to that later. But, in reality, if a seventh person joined that group of six, it wouldn’t change a thing.
Notice when you speak stood up. Another thing I’ve noticed is that people don’t like being stood up when speaking. It makes them vulnerable. But if you speak, you almost certainly speak whilst standing. You don’t grab a chair when saying thanks to the barista at Starbucks.
Record yourself speaking and listen to it. Several times. You’ve got to get used to this. Not only is it part of your improvement plan, but also, it makes you comfortable with your own voice.
Try to identify verbal tics. Are there words you overuse, or fillers that you use to mask what should be silence? Silence is one of the most powerful things you can embrace on stage. Embrace it in real life. My vocal communication used to be full of “ok, so like I went to the shops and like I…”. I don’t think I say it at all now! Absolutely was another one. That’s harder to shake off.
Creating a plan to help you speak more intentionally
Actively seek opportunities to be the centre of attention and put yourself on show. If you are sat down in a restaurant or a social setting, rather than staying sat down, find a reason to stand up and talk. Perhaps do this when you’ve got a point you want to emphasise. Even better, use your hands or physical actions to make a point. That’s public speaking right there.
Find opportunities to speak in a derisked environment. Lots of people recommend Toastmasters and groups like the Professional Speakers Associations. Personally I didn’t go that route. Toastmasters would slaughter me for not even being able to pronounce my surname properly, and the PSA is full of people like me who love the sound of their own voice. Is there any opportunities around your hobbies, passions, faith, and so on?
Get clear on what you want to speak about. This may be different than the speaking you are concerned about. Find your passion, if you don’t already know it, and consider volunteering for podcasts or similar.
Watch some of the great orators, and some of the not so great. Listen and look. There are loads of videos on YouTube. Pay attention to anything distracting. When you get a sharp radar for this stuff, you’ll notice all sorts. I remember watching Rishi Sunak during the start of the pandemic and all I could see was his dreadful visual distraction and clear incongruence. Many were wowed by the political Christmas gifts, whilst I was burning with frustration watching someone who clearly needed more coaching and more confidence.
Handling the ‘opportunities’ that cause fear
Understand and appreciate why you’ve been asked. No one invites a speaker in the knowledge that they will screw up or that they will not know the topic. They believe in you. Look in the mirror and ask yourself whether you believe you could have a conversation about the topic. If so, that’s all you’re going to do on stage.
Get clear on the scope of the talk. How long should it be? What do the audience want? What does the organiser want? What are the thoughts, feelings and actions that should be evoked? We’ll come to how to construct the talk later in this article.
Get clear on the setting. Where is the talk? What time? Will you be introduced? Do you need to provide a bio or any information to help you be introduced? How many attendees will be there? What will the layout of the room be - theatre, caberet, horseshoe, or auditorium? Will you require a microphone (likely if over 50 attendees)? Will you need to attend a sound check if so? What kind of microphone will it be? Will you have a comfort screen (a monitor which shows your slides so you don’t have to look behind you)?
Become a prima donna. Don’t accept using your own laptop. Find out the spec that they need for any slides and send it to them to manage. The last thing you need on the day is the hassle of trying to set up tech when you’re nervous. But, on the day still take your laptop with the slides on it. Plus a USB key with them. Plus your phone with them emailed to yourself. And a spare clicker. You can never be over prepared for this kind of stuff. I also insist on a lapel mic if possible, followed by a headset, and only use a handheld if I absolutely have to.
Preparing what you are going to present
Think about the general audience journey. I tend to carve my keynotes into three - I was always told our attention spans are an absolute maximum of twenty minutes, and I believe that actually they are far shorter. Think about how you are going to open, close, and fill that sandwich.
Create a step by step plan for the session. These become your slides. So, for example, you may have a strong opening hook such as a ‘wow’ fact or a statement of a problem; followed by some clarification and scene setting, followed by some detail, followed by solutions and a big bang ending. Scribble words on post it notes and shuffle them around until it feels right.
Design your slides, delete at least 95% of the words, and then delete another 95%. A picture paints a thousand words. A slide full of text and data bores the shit out of everyone. It’s really not that important - if they need that data, send a pre read. But again, delete… Create a one page exec summary, and then attach all the data as an appendix for the geek in the corner who actually reads it. Put any key callouts or data in the ‘notes’ section - but, limit yourself to one or two lines. And no scripting.
Aim for an absolute maximum of 20 slides. For an hour (which is by far the longest that one subject should be), that’s 3 minutes per slide. With my hacks I’ll share later, you’ll see why! I tend to use Canva to design my slides but Powerpoint to finalise. This is because custom fonts and graphics can be awkward on different machines.
Practicing what you are going to present
Do not write a script. Do not. Do not. Whatever you do. Do not write a script. Whip out your phone, and record yourself using a voice memo app. I prefer to use ‘presenter mode’ if using Powerpoint so that the timer runs visibly and I can check that I’ve balanced the flow of the session.
Listen and take notes. Did you crack any great jokes, find a turn of phrase that worked really well, or stumble anywhere? That’s the stuff you need to either reinforce or fix. Rinse and repeat.
Reconsider the theme. Do your slides actually take you on the right journey? As you were talking to your phone, did you notice that you referred to anything that was a few slides later? Shuffle them around now if you have to.
Reconsider the slides. Hopefully after the last session, you cut out most of the nonsense on your slides. Nonsense being words and bullet points. Now that you’ve heard yourself say the stuff, have you caught yourself repeating yourself? (Hint: if you say it and see it, that’s repetition. Save repetition for when it really matters. Wow moments, key callouts, key call to actions).
Polish the important stuff
If you have a great start, the rest happens naturally. Nerves kick in just before you start, and they ease pretty quickly afterwards. The first few lines are the one area I’d recommend scripting. Have a ‘wow’ opening. That’s not ‘Hi, I’m Carl, and I’m here today to talk to you about… zzzzzzz’. That will send the audience to sleep. They don’t care about you. They want to be educated, informed, motivated, and kept awake. You should never say your name, what you do, or what you are going to talk about. If they want that, get them to introduce you. Your job is to share what the audience want - and for them to receive it, you need to pique their curiosity. Ask a big question. State a controversial or amazing fact. You can even share a little quip about the venue or the weather if you absolutely have to. Just don’t do what 99% of presenters do. It’s not big and it’s not clever.
Give it a happy ending. Find a way to ensure that it doesn’t fizzle out. Build up to something that not only caps off a great talk, but also makes it absolutely clear that the session has ended. There is nothing more awkward than a speaker ending what they’re saying whilst the audience is waiting for the next slide, and that is a result of not thinking through the flow of the session. This can be scripted too if you absolutely have to.
Get someone to look over your slides. If you have any words, check for typos. If you are speaking in a different culture (eg a Westerner speaking in the Middle East), get it checked for any local sensitivity. And double check that the slide format is correct. Normally, 16:9 is the standard ratio and PPT / PPTX is the usual format.
Think of a one word reminder for each slide. Pop it into the notes app on your phone. You’ll need it later. That’s going to be the extent of your notes.
Leading up to the day
Reconfirm everything. Venue, arrival time, sound check time, length of session, who will introduce you, and so on. Reconfirm how they want slides delivered to them. Reconfirm any promises of a comfort monitor. And check if they want time for a Q+A.
Practice as much as you need. I very rarely practice a keynote now, but that’s because I have a conversation on stage around a finely polished structure and flow. The time I’ve saved in practice is put into planning. But for the first few years, I found that recording myself talking, even whilst driving, worked really well.
Plan your day around the talk. Yes, it may only be half hour or so. But, you’ll want to build in contingencies for traffic, for chats outside the room, for questions afterwards, and so on. You’ll be surprised how much of your diary a talk takes up. Far more than you’d ever imagine.
Make yourself feel great. Get your nails sorted, your outfit decided, and do what you want to do to feel like a million dollars on stage. You’ve got to be comfortable with all eyes being on you. And whatever you do - do not plan drinks the night before. Have more respect for your audience. They are giving up their valuable time to hear what you have to say.
The morning of the talk
Get there bright and early. There’s no point whatsoever loading yourself with extra stress. Limit your access to emails or anything potentially stressful. Take a stroll outside, take some deep breaths, take some time for yourself… whatever you need to do. You’ll find what works for you.
Think about what you eat and drink. I prefer to talk on an empty stomach. Not because of nerves, but because of the small risk of any food being still in my mouth and any resulting noises being heard on the microphone. I normally have a coffee to liven myself up, and water to clear my throat. I don’t tend to have sugary drinks as it can make your mouth ‘sticky’, again picked up by microphones.
Meet the organiser. If it’s a large event this may be tricky, but do try to make the effort to show them that you are there. You wouldn’t believe how many speakers flake out of events. Show them how different you are. Cancellations are the stuff of their nightmares.
Meet the tech team in the room. They should be your best friend. Get kitted out with your mic when they tell you to, and try to get an opportunity to get a feel for the room. If you can talk on the mic and hear yourself, great, but even without one you’ll get a feel for the acoustics. Check the fonts on the slides. Look at the stage and check if the promised comfort monitor is actually there (often it’s not!), check that it’s on presenter mode (usually it’s broken!), and confirm whether there’ll be water on stage and where you’ll find the clicker. Work out where you should stand and move, bearing in mind you don’t want to have the slides projected on your body. Work out whether you can jump off stage and mingle with the audience if you’re feeling brave. Work out how much back and forth and side to side movement you can do without looking down and without fear of falling off the stage. Look at the lectern and make a commitment to yourself that you will not hide behind it.
An hour before your talk
Go to the loo. Yeah, it happens. Try to plan it intentionally, just in case a disaster happens. You never know.
Whilst hidden away, scribble the one word notes onto your palms. This is by far my biggest cheat. It’s an easy set of notes to help remind you of your slide order, so you can ‘magically’ talk and segue from one slide to another without anyone seeing a transition. You’ll look like a pro.
Re read your slides as many times as you need to. Because you can’t when you’re on stage!
Put any notes in your back pocket. They are not to come out on stage. You’ve been booked as a speaker, not a reader. And, if you shake when you are nervous (most people do), anything you hold will show it. Especially paper. It’s like an amplifier for shakes! The back pocket trick is great as it puts your mind at rest knowing that they are there. I don’t do it personally but know many amazing world class speakers who do, even today.
Just before your talk
Meet and greet your audience. Yes you’re the speaker, no you’re not a celebrity. Get to know them, and ask what they want from the session. And their name. It adds an amazing opportunity to make their day if you feel confident enough, and has the added benefit of a new friend in the room.
Double check that you’ve been mic’d up. Sometimes I forget. It’s always worth checking.
Grab a bottle of water. Or three. You can never have enough water on stage.
Remind yourself that everything is going to be great. You’ve got nothing to fear.
How to talk on stage
Pace yourself. When nervous, you’ll speak really fast. The 30 minutes you planned will be done in no time at all. So take it easy. You’re not a member of Kurupt FM and your audience won’t appreciate you rapping to the tune of “FY2025 results”. Silence really is a powerful tool. If you can embrace that awkwardness, you’ve nailed the first step of stagecraft.
Embrace a variation in vocal tone. No one wants to hear a boring voice. Liven it up! Here’s a simple tip. Think of the most charismatic speaker you can think of, and take the mickey out of them. Vocal tone, pace, movement… all of this stuff is a game of exaggeration.
Embrace any stumbles. We all do it. You might mispronounce a word. No one cares. Just fix it as you would in conversation. The only stumble that is a deal breaker is anything discriminatory / offensive. But I don’t need to tell you that.
Have a chat with the audience. Don’t lecture them. Be conversational, tell stories, be you. They want you, not a robot. And they certainly don’t want a robot that reads the slides. They’ve already read the slides long before you’ve got to the end of the first bullet point.
How to move on stage
Move. Don’t be a dead body. Use your arms, use your feet, walk, engage with different parts of the room. That leads us nicely on to
Focus on sections of the audience. For a larger audience, carve the room up into sections, and look at each section. Each member of the audience will feel like you are looking directly at them. Find a smiley face in each section and smile back. You’ll be the most charismatic speaker they’ve ever heard!
Don’t be defensive. It is tempting to cross your arms, cover yourself, turn away from the audience, and so on. These are all natural defence mechanisms. And the audience will sense it. This is the time to rise up and be you.
Don’t be annoying. My annoying movement tic is pacing up and down too much. Be intentional with every movement you do, and every movement you don’t do. No hands in pockets, and certainly no jingling your keys!
How to handle audience questions
Plan in advance for likely questions. Think about what they might ask. If the organiser is insistent on a long Q+A (anything over 3 - 5 minutes), consider building a slide with questions for them to ask. Because British audiences tend not to ask questions! I’m not a fan of questions - I love answering them, I really do, but audiences don’t like asking them and it leads to awkward silences. In fact I generally refuse to answer questions for keynotes, as keynote content shouldn’t lead to questions in the same way that detail or breakout content should.
Accept that ‘I don’t know’ is a perfectly fine answer. It’s far better than lying. And the only way you can improve on it is by offering to find out the answer for them.
Never spend too long on a hyper specific question. Learn the art of deflection and offer to chat afterwards, one to one. Every single person in the room will be thankful for it.
If you are unclear on the question, start your answer with the question. Repeat it back and frame your answer based on your understanding of the question, and end it with ‘did that answer your question’. It shows respect for their wish to hear your thoughts on their question.
How to handle moments that can cause nerves
You’re not the most important thing in your audiences life, but during the talk, they are the most important to you. Things like audience members giggling, looking bored, checking their phones and so on can freak you out whilst on stage. Guess what? They might just have a bored face, have had a funny text message, or had an emergency. Can you hand on heart say that you’ve never said a comment to a friend, or checked your phone during a conference? They’re not talking about you, they’re wondering what’s for lunch.
A listening face is a bored face. Don’t confuse attentiveness with boredom. They look the same!
If you think you might want to try audience participation, don’t. If you’re not absolutely convinced that you can handle it, don’t do it. You’ll get the smart arse. It always happens.
Remember that most of the audience are just glad that they aren’t you. They’re not over thinking it, but they are relieved that they’re not on stage. Take pride in what you are brave enough to do.
Things you can do to improve
Do it again and again. Practice doesn’t make perfect, but it gets you damn close. Keep refining your craft.
Develop yourself. Learn about stagecraft. Learn about using your entire vocal tone. Learn about timing. Learn how to design better slides. Watch the experts in action. Learn about comedy at a class and about the structure of jokes and the rules of humour. Learn about great speeches and what made them memorable. Learn about rhetoric. Learn about learning styles. Learn about handling questions. Learn about the art of props and how to integrate them into what you do. Learn about storytelling. Learn.
Ask for brutal feedback. Ask those who you respect to give you no holds barred feedback. It’ll hurt, but it’s those blows which help you improve. You need to keep taking them until you get booked and rebooked consistently. It takes many many years.
Give back. Give others a platform, Recommend speakers to bookers. Give them tips. It’ll remind you of what you need to work on as well.
Carl Reader is a WH Smith Bestselling Author and international keynote speaker with a real passion for helping people do better. There are two ways to learn more about Carl! You can either follow him on Social Media if you’re just curious (@carlreader on most platforms), or if you’d like to learn a little more about what he does on stage, through content and in the media from a commercial perspective, you can visit his website.
You can buy a copy of his last book BOSS IT here, wherever you are in the world. And of course, I’d love you to subscribe to this community to be the first to see everything I have to share - just click the button below. It’s free of charge!
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